Welcome to the very first Conference Call on the Big 12 microsite! The Conference Call is a new feature where Danny (@dspewak), Kory (@Kory_Carpenter) and Nate (@natekotisso) answer five important questions related to Big 12 basketball. This week, we’ll talk about how many Big 12 teams we think make the tournament, Texas’ early season woes, conference realignment and much more.
- If you’re not Texas Tech or TCU, it seems you’ve got a shot at making the tournament this season. How many Big 12 teams will hear their name called on Selection Sunday?
- Texas has struggled mightily at this week’s EA Sports Maui Invitational. Is it time to start doubting the Longhorns?
- Conference realignment is back! (dontcha love it?) If you were Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby or a president/chancellor of member university, which school would you voucher to join the league?
- Big 12 players have had the lion’s share of outstanding performances early on in the year. Which player do you think had the most impressive individual performance so far?
- Who is the best “State” team in the Big 12, Iowa, Kansas or Oklahoma?
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1. If you’re not Texas Tech or TCU, it seems you’ve got a shot at making the tournament this season. How many Big 12 teams will hear their name called on Selection Sunday?
Danny Spewak: At this point, I’d say the Big 12 will send five or six teams to the NCAA Tournament. It’s impossible to know exactly how everything will shake out at this point, but you’ve got to think Kansas, Baylor and, to an extent, Kansas State seem like locks at some level. After that, there’s no telling who will emerge: Oklahoma State had more success in one weekend in Puerto Rico than it did all of last year, Iowa State and Oklahoma are wild cards and it’s possible Texas and West Virginia’s horrendous blowouts were early-season flukes. These eight teams will find a way to sort themselves out this winter, so at the risk of sounding like I’m taking the easy way out, I’ll guess that six of those teams will build a decent enough case for an at-large bid.
Kory Carpenter: We’ll have seven teams in the tournament this year: Kansas, Baylor, Texas, Kansas State, West Virginia, Iowa State, and Oklahoma State, in any order. Iowa State and Oklahoma State are far from locks at this point, but there’s enough talent on both teams to make it into the expanded field of 68.
Nate Kotisso: You gotta love this league. How many conferences can say four-fifths of any league have a chance to make the tournament? Well in spite of that, I think Baylor, KU, K-State, Texas, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State will all make the field of 68. Cases can be made for Iowa State and West Virginia but their youth (WVU) and new core (ISU) are a bit off-putting. The great thing about November predictions is that you’re right until March.
2. Texas has struggled mightily at this week’s EA Sports Maui Invitational. Is it time to start doubting the Longhorns?
DS: In November, you always want to judge teams’ performances with a little leeway. We need to understand that Texas played without Myck Kabongo, and that it faced a Chaminade team essentially playing in its Super Bowl. That’s the biggest game of the season for Chaminade, and it’s not the first time an unsuspecting major-conference team has waltzed into Maui and lost to the Division II host. It’s not time to write off the Longhorns, but even without Kabongo, their performance on Monday night was about as embarrassing and abysmal as it gets. The Silver Swords attempted 39 free throws and hung 86 points on Texas — while shooting 37 percent from the floor! That’s unbelievable. Offensively, Texas looked as lost as it did during its first two games. It couldn’t shoot, it turned the ball over too much and it finished with a measly 10 team assists. Everybody knows Kabongo is about as important to this team as any player in the country, but getting absolutely blown out of the gym by a Division II team is a big, bright red flag. The Longhorns have sure looked like a bunch of freshmen and sophomores during their first three games, so they better grow up quickly. Kabongo or no Kabongo.
KC: It’s always time to start doubting a Rick Barnes’ coached team. Barnes has been doing less with more better than almost any coach in the country (outside of Scott Drew, possibly) the last decade. He does have somewhat of an early excuse with so many freshmen on the team right now, but struggling to beat Fresno State and getting handled by a Division II school in Chaminade can’t be comforting for the 12 Longhorn basketball fans out there.
NK: Can I say it’s time to start doubting them a little bit? This team needs Myck Kabongo in the worst way but the NCAA’s had a lot on their plate lately from getting Shabazz Muhammad eligible for UCLA to hearing suspension appeals from Indiana’s Hanner Mosquera-Perea and Peter Jurkin. But…Chaminade? The Oklahoma team that lost to them two years ago finished 14-18, which makes the loss all the more gross for UT. But if Texas finds a way to lose the next game to Mississippi State, which believe it or not has found a way to look even worse than the Horns, then it’s time freak out.
3. Conference realignment is back! (dontcha love it?) If you were Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby or a president/chancellor of member university, which school would you voucher to join the league?
DS: Florida State’s an interesting possibility. Much like how the Big Ten added a few of the nation’s major television markets in Rutgers (New York City/New Jersey) and Maryland (Baltimore/Washington D.C.), Florida State could give the Big 12 a whole new look in that state. Currently, the league has no presence in Florida, so it’s interesting to at least consider that possible expansion. From an athletics standpoint, you’d also add a big-time football school (which means $$$!). From our basketball side, Leonard Hamilton has created a consistent winner, even though the program’s overall history and fan support isn’t superb.
KC: In a frantic race not to be left behind, I think we saw a few conferences that jumped the gun the last time around in realignment and may have second guessed themselves after the fact. The Pac-12’s expansion with Colorado and Utah isn’t looking good at all right now, and the Big 10’s recent additions of Maryland and Rutgers are risky moves. If both schools bring in their respective markets -Washington D.C. and New York City- it will be a success. If not, neither school’s athletic program carries a lot of weight on its own. If I’m the Big 12, I stay at 10 for now unless I’m able to land Florida State and Clemson. They would be a bridge of sorts for West Virginia, they’re both football schools, and Florida State would open up Florida recruiting which would please Texas and Oklahoma. If that wouldn’t work, I’d stay put and see where things go. Taking a Cincinnati or Louisville because other conferences are expanding isn’t the smartest thing to do.
NK: At least we can all agree in having Florida State in the conference but if you’re looking for a wild card candidate — it’s the University of Houston. UH was in the now-defunct Southwest Conference with Texas, Texas Tech, TCU and Baylor and as far as television markets go, it does much better than Tallahassee, Louisville or Clemson, South Carolina. They had a Heisman Trophy winner in the Southwest Conference. They experienced the Phi Slamma Jamma era in the Southwest Conference. And according to sources, Houston has a get-out-of-jail card with the Big East if their TV contract revenue standards aren’t met. Maybe it’s my H-Town roots talking but if FSU, Clemson, Louisville or Cincinnati go in different directions, UH falling in the Big 12’s lap isn’t the worst thing in the world.
4. Big 12 players have had the lion’s share of outstanding performances early on in the year. Which player do you think had the most impressive individual performance so far?
DS: I think it has to be Marcus Smart from Oklahoma State. That whole team has been stunning, really. You could give this award to Le’Bryan Nash, too (he’s the leading scorer so far, after all), or even Smart’s high school teammate, Phil Forte, who hit four threes against North Carolina State. But I’m picking Smart here because he has lived up to everybody’s ridiculously high standards already, which his rare in this day and age of hero worship of five-star freshmen. I wasn’t necessarily a believer of Oklahoma State and Smart. I had read so many articles praising his maturity and ability, that the skeptic in me wanted to give him time to progress into a truly elite college player. After running Tennessee and North Carolina State out of the province of Puerto Rico and back to the continental United States, I’m the biggest Marcus Smart fan there is. He can get to the basket at will. He passes so well. He runs the offense. He’s a non-traditional point guard with point guard skills. He rebounds. He plays defense. And it’s only been one week! Love this guy, and I am not afraid to say I was dead wrong on this team. Of course, knowing the way the world works, this team could tank by December. You never know, but we’ve all liked what we’ve seen.
Who has been the most impressive player so far? Marcus Smart and Pierre Jackson are both in the discussion
KC: The preseason conference player of the year had plenty of expectations coming into the season and he’s lived up to them so far. Against the Eagles, Jackson went 10-15 from the field with only three turnovers in 36 minutes.
NK: I’m with Kory on this one. I was a fan of Pierre Jackson before it was fashionable. If you missed Baylor-Boston College play live, looking at Jackson’s stat line would have put you in the front row. I mean that figuratively and literally, since no one goes to preseason tournaments anyway. So sad. But yeah, 31 points, made six threes, dished out seven dimes and had two steals. Great night for a great player.
5. Who is the best “State” team in the Big 12, Iowa, Kansas or Oklahoma?
DS: After gushing about the Cowboys in the above paragraph, I’ll actually stick with Kansas State as the best “state” team in the conference. I’ve seen nothing to suggest that Bruce Weber’s team still can’t compete at the top of this conference. We’ll learn more about the Wildcats soon — and they certainly haven’t had the kind of signature performances Oklahoma State has displayed — but I like the experience, depth and physicality of Kansas State. Just a tad moreso than I like Oklahoma State. It’s close, though. Very close after Puerto Rico.
KC: Kansas State has the most experience but Oklahoma State has the most talent of the three, and I think they’ll mesh before Big 12 play begins in January. Sunday’s 20-point victory over No. 6 ranked North Carolina State proved they could beat anyone on their schedule, now its just a matter of remaining consistent all season. Sitting at 4-0, the next month’s schedule isn’t all that challenging leading up to a New Year’s Eve game against Gonzaga. The guard duo of Le’Bryan Nash and Marcus Smart is averaging 23.8 PPG through four games and both players could leave early for the NBA draft if the Cowboys have a successful season, which I think will happen.
NK: It’s a close race between the Pokes and Cats but I like KSU more. OK State has looked a lot better since they’re coming of an impressive showing in Puerto Rico but let’s not forget two things: OSU nearly lost their first round game to Akron in regulation and KSU hasn’t played stiff competition yet. It is so rare to see a team return ten scholarship players especially following a coaching change. Travis Ford still has to deal with an rotating rotation with injuries plaguing his team. A combination of having big game coaching experience in Bruce Weber and their deep, veteran roster have me believing the Cats are a Sweet 16 sleeper. It makes sense and y’all know it.